Chapter 272: Haunted Forest 2

It was funny walking through the haunted forest with Finn, because he walked casually, barely blinking an eye at any of the supposed scares and chatting with her as if they were out on just any walk through forest. Meanwhile, the pups and juveniles were doing their best to scare both of them, and they were at least succeeding with their Luna who was jumping and releasing little shrieks of surprise every time they were able to catch her off guard.

There was one point when Finn bristled a little with anxiety, and that was when someone jumped out of the forest draped in a sheet covered in leaves. It was as if a piece of the forest had come alive, as there was only the leafy shapeless form that sprang into their path. Finn darted in front of August, shielding her with his body as a snarl erupted from his throat.

"Mr. Finn! It's just me!" the young lycan pulled off the leaf-covered disguise, raising his hands in surrender before laughing at the success of fooling one of the perimeter runners for the council.

August stood watching Finn's back fighting a smile until he visibly relaxed and turned to face her.

"The leaves disguised his scent," he grumbled, unhappy that he had been taken by surprise.

Suddenly Sage ran toward them, grabbing August's hand excitedly and pulling her forward. "Luna, follow me!" he said, a wide grin on his face.

She allowed him to tug her along, and then they were bumping into ghosts and stepping on something crunching under their feet.

"What are we walking over?" she grimaced, glancing down, afraid to truly know.

"Bones," Sage giggled as he stomped harder ahead of her.

"Bones?" she asked, emphasizing the word to make sure she heard him right. "Real bones?"

"Some are real," Sage shrugged.

The instantaneous horror of that revelation was erased when she saw the pure joy on the pup's face. For some reason, he was really enjoying this. There were times during art class and when she saw him with some of the other pups that she caught that joy breaking through little by little, but much of the time Sage was so reserved and serious.

Finn was crunching along behind them, and August turned to him to confirm what Sage said. "Are these really bones?"

"They might be," he chuckled at the look on her face.

"What? What kind of bones?" her eyes widened.

"Small prey animals like birds and squirrels, I'm sure. Or they could be using pretzels. It feels like a combination to me," he looked down at the dark path under their feet.

How could he tell when they were wearing shoes? August decided not to ask, but she paused her steps, slowly lifting a foot before placing it back down to feel the crunch again.

"You are easy to scare," Finn chuckled.

"I told you," she joined him in the soft laughter. "But you know, a collection of bones is not exactly common for me."

"Really? But they have so many uses," he replied.

"Like what?" she asked, bewildered.

"Well, props for a haunted forest for one," he smirked.

"I don't make many haunted forests," she chuckled. "Besides that."

"Fertilizer is the most obvious," he shrugged.

"Really? Bones help plants?"

"Bones have phosphorous, which is needed for plants to grow. When we plant gardens, we ground up bones and add them to the soil. You'll see it in the spring," he smiled.

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"What else do you use bones for?" she asked, head tilting with curiosity.

How had she not known that bones were a component in fertilizer? It made sense—when animals die, their bones get absorbed by the earth, which in turn uses the remains to promote more life. Life and death were not exclusive events but rather twin movements, inextricably tied.

"They were used for musical instruments at one time," Finn explained. "They've also been used for dishes and decoration and jewelry."

"Wow," August nodded, increasingly aware of how naive she was about something so simple. "How have I gone through life without collecting my own share of bones?" she asked, smiling to herself.

"Well it's never too late to start, Luna," he teased, reaching down to find a small bone and offering it to her.

"You know, I think maybe I'll wait and start my collection another time," she chuckled, backing away from the offering and allowing him to drop it back on the ground.

"I tried," he shrugged, turning back to the dark path in front of them.

Sage had scampered away again to investigate the next exciting thing, leaving Finn and August to walk at a casual pace once again.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" August pinched her nose and looked around. It smelled like rotting flesh.

"Cheese," Finn laughed seeing her expression.

"Cheese?" she cried. How could that be cheese? How could anyone eat something that smelled like that?

"Luna," Finn called, gesturing for her to lean closer. "There are some pups hiding up ahead that are waiting to scare you."

"Oh," she nodded, whispering back. "How do you know?"

"Scent," he told her. "I just don't want you to be too scared when it happens."

A crooked grin bloomed on her face and she touched his arm in thanks.

"I have a feeling this will be the best part of the night for these pups—succeeding at scaring their Luna," she giggled.

Maniacal laughter erupted from somewhere in the distance, and August froze as goosebumps pebbled over her skin. "They are really good at this," she mumbled to herself.

"Are you able to see them with your… other sight?" Finn asked.

"With the Veiled?" August hummed, wondering the same thing. She hadn't tried it. "I don't think I want to," she whispered.

"Why not?"

She stopped walking and closed her eyes, attempting to tap in to what her and Graeme had ignited between the two of them earlier. It was like the Veiled, but it was stronger. She could sense each one of them in this pack like potent forms of energetic beings that illuminated behind her eyes and threaded through her.

Sure enough, she sensed the pups crouching down up ahead, waiting for her to draw closer before they could spring onto the path. There was a bright eagerness and suppressed laughter she could also sense, like little wellsprings of joy—much like she had seen in Sage.

"Yeah, I feel them," she giggled.

But then she sensed something else… like negative space cut out of the darkness that did not belong. There were forms lurking within the forest here that were not connected to her like the others.

A frown settled on her forehead as she tried to focus closer on what this was. Were these people on their land that did not belong?

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